Wenger opens talks with Chelsea boss over surprise defender deal

A report in the Mirror claims that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has made contact with new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte over a surprise deal for defender Kurt Zouma.

Wenger has wasted no time strengthening the squad after blowing our best chance to win the Premier League in over a decade after splashing out on the signing of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka last week.

The boss is now expected to turn his attention to bringing in a centre-back and striker over the coming months and several players have been linked with moves to the Emirates in recent weeks.

A new name has now emerged as the Mirror are citing Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli as claiming that Wenger has opened talks with incoming Chelsea boss Antonio Conte over an audacious deal for Kurt Zouma.

The 21-year-old forced his way in to the Blues first team last season before a serious knee injury ended his campaign and the French international will also miss this summers European Championships in his home country.

I rate the former Saint-Etienne centre-back highly and would love to see him come to Arsenal but the chances of a deal happening are extremely slim. Why on earth would Chelsea do business with us?

No doubt Conte will want time to assess the squad he’s inherited but even if he decides Zouma doesn’t fit in to his plans, I can’t see our London rivals agreeing to sell to Arsenal.

Neither Per Mertesakcer or Gabriel have proven to be the answer to our defensive issues so I think we certainly need to sign a reliable partner for Laurent Koscielny this summer, but I’d be shocked if Zouma turns out to be the man we bring in.

Fair play to Arsene for trying though [assuming these reports are accurate of course], at least the boss appears to be taking this transfer window seriously….